LONDON: The British government said Thursday it expected to see “clear and lasting evidence of positive progress” across English cricket after a damaging racism scandal rocked the sport.
Former spin bowler Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with the abuse he suffered while playing for the county side, saying he had been driven to thoughts of suicide.
A committee of lawmakers heard harrowing testimony from the Pakistan-born player in November, plus evidence from senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the former and current chairmen of Yorkshire.
The parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee issued its report in January, saying cricket must root out “deep-seated racism” or face losing public money.
The government made its formal response on Thursday, noting encouraging progress over recent months but calling for “clear and lasting evidence of positive progress across the sport.”
It agreed with the committee’s recommendation that future public funds for the sport should be dependent on “continuous, demonstrable progress in getting rid of racism in both the dressing rooms and on the stands.”
The government said public funding was already “explicitly linked” to the development and implementation of robust diversity and inclusion policies.
It also agreed that the ECB needed to be held to account and transparently report their progress against key indicators, saying the minister for sport had been meeting regularly with the ECB and clubs since November.
“We expect to see evidence of improvements across the sport and delivery on the ECB’s ambition to eradicate racism from cricket,” the government said.
“However if these changes are not made and implemented, the government reserves the right to intervene further.”
Yorkshire will hold an extraordinary general meeting on March 31 to vote on changes to the structure of the board following the racism scandal.
UK government demands progress on racism in cricket
https://arab.news/5tkpt
UK government demands progress on racism in cricket
- Former spin bowler Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with the abuse he suffered
- A committee of lawmakers heard harrowing testimony from the Pakistan-born player in November
Three LIV Golf wild card spots up for grabs in Florida
- Total of 22 players advance to weekend action, with chance to join 2026 LIV Golf League season
LECANTO, FLORIDA: While South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang and others at the top of Friday’s leaderboard at LIV Golf Promotions advanced comfortably into the weekend at Black Diamond Ranch, former wild card player Anthony Kim faced an 8-foot birdie putt to decide his fate on the final hole.
Kim rolled in the putt, arguably his biggest clutch moment in the two years since returning to pro golf from a 12-year retirement, to shoot a 1-under 69 and make the cut on the number.
A total of 22 players among the field of 47 in the second round moved on to compete for the three open wild card positions for the 2026 LIV Golf League season. Scores will now reset for the final 36 holes.
Kim is one of seven players Friday to sneak in on the number and is the only remaining American of the 12 who started the week in the field. His final birdie at the par-4 18th capped off a rollercoaster finish that included a chip-in to save par at the 13th hole after his tee shot found the water, along with bounce-back birdies after each of the two bogeys he made in the final five holes.
“We can talk about rollercoasters on the round today, but my life has been a pretty big rollercoaster, so this is pretty smooth for me,” said the 40-year-old Kim, who was exempt into the second round after suffering relegation on LIV Golf last season.
Another former LIV Golf player, Australian Matt Jones, is hoping to earn a wild card spot after playing all 50 LIV Golf tournaments as a member of Ripper GC during the first four seasons. Jones started strong on Friday and was 4 under at the turn before hanging on to shoot 69 after making three bogeys in a five-hole stretch to start his back nine.
Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent also advanced by shooting 69. Vincent is the only player in the field to have previous Promotions success, earning one of the three spots in 2023 that placed him on Jon Rahm’s expansion Legion XIII team in 2024.
Wang, meanwhile, continued his early-week success in LIV Golf Promotions, shooting a 5-under 65 to lead the field on Friday. In 2024, Wang shot the best opening round in Promotions and tied for third best in the following round but could not keep up the pace on the 36-hole final-day finish. He is glad to see the format change to 18 holes over two days this weekend.
“It’s more comfortable for me to play 18, 18,” said Wang, who was exempt from Round 1 due to his International Series status. “I’m really excited to play the next two days. I’ll just give it my best.”
Canadian Richard T. Lee, whose 6-under 64 was the lowest score in Thursday’s first round, followed with a 66 on Friday as one of Wang’s three closest pursuers. His round was fueled by eagles on both of the par-5 holes, with his 5-wood second shot at the ninth hole settling to 5 feet, and his 5-iron from a waste bunker at the 16th finished within 3 feet.
Like Wang, Lee has made the weekend for the second consecutive Promotions tournament but has not converted that into a LIV Golf spot.
“I played 6 under yesterday and 4 under, and I think that’s plenty good enough for this course,” said Lee, who is seeking to become the first Canadian player on LIV Golf.
Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana — who played in LIV Golf’s inaugural 2022 season — and Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren matched Lee’s 66, while nine players shot 67.
As for Kim, he managed to survive-and-advance on a tough day after a performance he called a “5” on a scale to 10. But like the other 21 competitors still alive at Black Diamond Ranch, he is hoping to find some magic during the last 36 holes to earn one of the coveted LIV Golf spots.
“This is what I signed up for,” Kim said. “I’m glad that I got to be in that position and have to make a birdie to get into the next two rounds. There’s a long way to go, but I feel really good about it going into this weekend.”
